Thursday, June 25, 2026, 10 a.m. (New York City time), 250 Broadway - 8th Floor - Hearing Room 2
Committee: Committee on Criminal Justice
The Committee on Criminal Justice, chaired by Council Member Brooks-Powers, held an oversight hearing on factors contributing to criminal case processing delays and their effect on the pretrial jail population and the mandated closure of Rikers Island. The first panel was Chief Administrative Judge Zayas of the New York State court system, who described scheduling-order and discovery-conferencing initiatives, reported rising dispositions, and provided county-by-county discovery compliance figures; district attorneys did not appear but submitted testimony. A second panel from the Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice and the NYPD discussed assigned counsel funding, discovery technology, and evidence-transfer workflows. Public defenders, advocacy organizations, and directly impacted people then testified about discovery noncompliance, low-level policing, bail practices, the 730 competency process, and underfunded alternatives to incarceration. No votes or legislation were taken up; committee members questioned witnesses and requested data.
1:02 Today's conversation
1:02 demonstrated his commitment to
1:04 changing the status quo and t
1:07 ocreating a legal system that
1:08 promotes community safety by
1:10 reducing reliance on
1:12 incarceration I am joined by
1:15 committee members Brewer and
1:19 murano the pace at which cases
1:22 moved throughout court is a
1:24 critical factor in determining
1:26 how New York City will achieve
1:28 its legal mandate to close
1:31 rikers island and transition
1:34 to borough based jails at
1:35 present more than 80% of the
1:38 people in City jails are
1:40 pretrial detainees individuals
1:42 who have not been convicted
1:44 but are held while their cases
1:46 are pending when those cases
1:48 are delayed people remain in
1:50 custody long and and necessary s
1:54 inflated and are raised as t
1:57 owhether the plan capacity of
1:58 the borough based jails will
2:00 be sufficient as context for
2:02 this hearing it is important
2:05 to recognize the real world
2:09 consequences of prolonged
2:10 pretrial detention in our City
2:12 jails the experience of
2:13 individuals like kalief
2:15 browder who spent years at
2:17 rikers island without a
2:19 conviction while his case was
2:22 repeatedly delayed underscores
2:24 the human cost of a system
2:26 where case prices and breaks
2:29 down his stories are reminded
2:31 that delays in court
2:33 proceedings are not abstract
2:35 administrative problems but
2:36 have profound and lasting
2:40 consequences those
2:41 consequences are felt not only
2:43 by people unnecessarily
2:45 detained but also by crime
2:46 victims and their loved ones
2:49 when someone is victimized
2:50 especially by an act of
2:53 violence we should expect
2:56 swift accountability when
2:56 justice is delayed especially
2:58 in communities where immediate
3:01 consequences for minor
3:03 offenses are frequent and
3:04 highly visible people rightly
3:07 lose confidence in the
3:09 criminal justice system the
3:11 criminal legal system.
3:12 As a result we are all left
3:14 less safe today's hearing will
3:17 examine the operational
3:19 factors that contribute t
3:21 ocase delays including
3:23 discovery compliance court
3:25 scheduling practices evidence
3:28 production and interagency
3:30 coordination between the
3:31 office of court administration s
3:36 office of criminal justice
3:38 . Also the committee will hear
3:40 testimony from legal service
3:42 providers community
3:43 organizations and other
3:44 stakeholders about how these
3:47 systems function and practice
3:49 and where breakdowns continue
3:51 to occur we will focus in
3:53 particular on how discovery
3:54 obligations are being
3:56 implemented following the
3:58 initial 20 19 statutory
4:00 reforms and subsequent
4:01 amendments and how those
4:03 requirements are affecting
4:06 trial readiness in case
4:08 resolution timelines we will
4:09 also examine how court
4:11 operations such as the timing
4:13 of hearings the resolution of
4:15 discovery disputes and the
4:16 availability of court
4:18 resources shape the length of
4:20 pretrial pretrial detention I
4:22 would like to thank my staff
4:24 and committee staff for their
4:27 hard work.
4:27 Jeremy whiteman senior
4:28 counsel to the committee who
4:30 is serving in his very final
4:33 hearing with the City Council
4:34 and I just want to thank you
4:35 for the work that you've
4:37 provided to the committee all
4:38 of these years senior counsel
4:42 to the committee also we also
4:44 we have policy analyst casey
4:46 logistic e financial analyst
4:48 julian martin my deputy chief
4:50 of staff who also is serving
4:52 in his last hearing before
4:55 departing to go on to his next
4:57 chapter and we like to thank
4:59 julian for all of his amazing
5:00 work both on the committee on
5:02 criminal justice and the
5:04 committee on transportation
5:04 and infrastructure my my
5:07 communications director chiara
5:08 powell and of course my chief
5:10 of staff renee taylor I look
5:12 forward to a productive
5:13 discussion about how we can
5:15 strengthen court operations t
5:16 oenhance fairness and
5:18 accountability across the
5:22 board charge size so now a
5:24 quite it's called judge zayas
5:25 up to the please the council
5:31 will sway you in this do
5:40 affirm to tell the truth the
5:41 whole truth and nothing doth
5:42 with the truth before this
5:44 committee and respond honestly
5:46 to Council Member questions I
5:47 do noting for the record it
5:49 was answered affirmatively you
5:50 begin your testimony now my my
5:55 light is red here should it be
5:58 green okay great I begin yes
6:02 . All right good morning chaird
6:06 the other members of this
6:08 committee for organizing ah
6:11 today's hearing on a truly
6:14 important subject the
6:14 processing of criminal cases
6:15 in New York City ah as you
6:17 said in your opening remarks
6:19 which I
6:20 . Really appreciated the
6:22 efficient management of
6:24 criminal cases is something
6:26 that I care deeply deeply
6:27 about having served for many
6:29 years as a trial judge and an
6:33 administrative judge now as
6:34 the chief administrative judge
6:37 of overseeing the operations
6:39 of all of New York states
6:41 trial courts one of my highest
6:44 priorities is the
6:46 implementation of policies and
6:48 procedures that help minimize
6:48 the delays that often impede
6:51 the swift resolution of
6:53 criminal cases
6:53 . Let me start by explaining
6:55 why this issue is so important
6:57 for our criminal justice
6:59 system to be effective and
7:01 credible serious criminal
7:04 cases cannot routinely
7:05 languish in the courts
7:07 allowing criminal cases t
7:08 oproceed at a pace that lacks
7:11 in appropriate sense of
7:13 urgency results in a loss of
7:14 confidence in the court system
7:16 ability to do its job when for
7:20 example there is a murder in
7:22 one of our communities and
7:24 someone is arrested it should
7:25 not take too or three years
7:27 for the case to be resolved.
7:30 Witnesses affected affected
7:32 neighborhoods and the families
7:33 of victims deserve better so
7:36 to do the individuals who are
7:39 charged.
7:40 Efficiency is not just
7:41 essential for cases that are
7:43 resolved in the traditional
7:45 ways either with a bail
7:47 bargain a plea bargain I'm
7:50 sorry or a trial it is also
7:53 ecourts which provide diversion
8:00 opportunities for individuals
8:01 with substance use disorders
8:03 mental health issues victims
8:05 of human trafficking
8:07 adolescence and emerging
8:08 adults veterans and others it
8:09 should go without saying that
8:10 the faster we engage these
8:14 individuals with the services
8:14 and treatments they need the
8:17 more likely these
8:18 interventions are able to be
8:20 effective.
8:20 This morning I'm excited t
8:22 ohighlight all of the things
8:23 the court system is doing t
8:26 oaddress these case delays but
8:28 just as importantly I'm going
8:30 to suggest several ways in
8:30 which other justice system
8:32 stakeholders must step up if
8:35 we are going to the the goal
8:37 that I is so important to this
8:40 council reducing the jail
8:41 population to around 4000 so
8:44 that it it can be accommodated
8:46 by the borough based jails the
8:47 bottom line is this improving
8:52 case processing efficiency and
8:53 high volume courts is not easy l
8:58 hands on the deck of deck
9:00 approach the simplest reason
9:03 is that while we would like t
9:05 obelieve that judges have the
9:07 authority to make criminal
9:09 cases proceed at whatever pace
9:12 they choose in actuality there
9:13 are many factors that affect
9:16 the case processing that are
9:18 beyond the court's control t
9:20 olist just a few cases get
9:22 delayed when it takes the
9:25 prosecution months upon months
9:27 to provide all of the
9:28 discovery that the defense is
9:30 entitled to on the New York
9:31 robust discovery law which
9:33 sometimes results from the
9:35 lack of effective coordination
9:38 between prosecutors and the
9:39 nypd cases get delayed because
9:42 defense attorneys have a
9:44 constitutional obligation to
9:46 carefully review the discovery
9:48 they receive hundreds or even
9:50 thousands of pages of police
9:52 reports and medical records
9:53 along with the hours of body
9:56 camera footage recorded by the
9:58 officers who responded to the
10:00 scene.
10:00 Cases get delayed when a
10:01 defendant who has been found
10:03 unfit to proceed must wait
10:06 months before they can begin
10:09 receiving competency
10:10 restoration services.
10:11 At an om h h hospital
10:13 . And perhaps most most
10:15 frustrating of all cases are
10:17 delayed when private defense
10:19 attorneys have dozens of
10:20 paying clients from across the
10:23 City ah far more than a solo
10:25 practitioner can reasonably
10:27 manage but choose not to hire
10:29 associates to handle their
10:30 caseload
10:31 . These are not excuses they
10:33 are facts and if we're going
10:34 to improve the case processing
10:36 in a long term sustainable way c
10:40 about the myriad changes the
10:43 challenges so what is the
10:45 system system doing about case
10:47 processing for starters we are
10:48 urging judges and court
10:51 attorneys to take a more
10:53 proactive approach to case
10:54 management and giving them the
10:56 tools and resources to do so
10:58 effectively throughout New
11:00 York city's supreme courts
11:01 were indicted felonies are
11:03 handled judges are now issuing
11:05 scheduling orders that set
11:07 clear timelines for getting
11:09 through the cases preliminary
11:11 stages these orders
11:12 established deadlines for the
11:14 production of discovery by the
11:16 prosecution as well as for the
11:18 defense to raise issues with
11:20 the people's discovery
11:22 compliance and they mandate
11:25 court attorney led conferences
11:26 with the parties which provide
11:27 a forum for discovery disputes
11:31 to be resolved efficiently
11:32 hopefully without the need for
11:34 time consuming motion practice e
11:40 conferences also encourage
11:41 early discussions about case
11:44 resolutions in brooklyn where
11:46 we first began issuing these
11:47 orders at the end of 20 24 a
11:51 nexecutive assistant district
11:53 attorney attends every
11:55 conference and makes a plea
11:56 offer which helped contribute
11:58 in 20 25 to a nearly 100
12:02 %increase in the number of
12:03 dispositions in the two core
12:05 parts that were part of the
12:07 pilot perhaps this scheduling
12:09 order initiative doesn't sound
12:11 that groundbreaking breaking
12:12 but it is when I was a public
12:14 defender for nine years and
12:15 also when I was a judge I was
12:18 based I was it was basically
12:20 unheard of for judges in New
12:22 York city's criminal courts t
12:25 oissue scheduling orders but
12:27 for reasons that almost go
12:29 without saying it's best best
12:32 practices for judges at the
12:33 beginning of every case the
12:35 sets clear scheduling
12:36 expectations so that the
12:38 parties understand that the
12:39 case is going to proceed on
12:41 the courts timeline not theirs.
12:44 We've also set up
12:45 infrastructure in each borough
12:46 to help them to ensure that
12:49 homicides felony sex crimes
12:51 multiple defendant gang
12:54 prosecutions
12:54 . And other complex matters
12:56 which tend to be difficult t
12:58 oresolve move towards this
12:59 position
12:59 . There are many reasons these
13:02 cases get delayed the
13:04 discovery can be voluminous
13:06 plea bargaining is more
13:08 fraught and scheduling is
13:10 complicated because even in
13:11 New York City we have to few
13:13 lawyers on both sides handling
13:16 the most serious criminal
13:17 cases this is why we've hired
13:20 experienced court attorneys in
13:21 each of our supreme courts t
13:24 oaggressively conference these
13:26 cases identify barriers t
13:28 oprogress and develop firm
13:29 plans for moving forward in
13:30 addition over the past two
13:32 years we have significantly
13:34 ramped up the number of non
13:36 judicial personnel serving in
13:38 our problem solving courts
13:40 statewide statewide we've
13:42 added nearly 100 project
13:45 directors case managers and
13:48 resource coordinators.
13:49 Amounting to a 30% increase
13:51 in programmatic staff which
13:53 has allowed us to reduce
13:54 caseloads in some of our
13:56 busiest courts particularly in
13:57 New York City and open New
14:00 ones in fact in fact last year n
14:04 the cities supreme courts
14:05 served over 31 a hundred New
14:08 yorkers nearly 1000 more than
14:11 we served in 20 22 and credit
14:14 for that must be shared with
14:15 our district attorneys and our
14:17 defense bar who have
14:18 demonstrated a laudable a
14:20 commitment to alternative
14:22 forms of accountability in
14:24 criminal cases we are indeed
14:25 focused on improving case
14:28 processing and efficiency
14:29 efficiency from every
14:32 conceivable angle we have
14:34 established dedicated
14:35 positions in each borough t
14:36 ocoordinate with the New York
14:38 City department of corrections
14:40 on issues related to the
14:41 production of defendants that
14:43 can stall cases and we're now
14:46 meeting regularly with
14:47 representatives from City Hall
14:48 on a range of issues of mutual
14:51 concern with case processing
14:52 at the very top of the list
14:55 and members of this committee
15:02 as well.
15:03 We will also successful at
15:04 getting the state legislature
15:05 this year to pass one of our
15:08 program bills which we hope
15:09 the governor will sign that
15:11 will give judges the authority
15:12 with the parties consent t
15:16 odispense with recidivist
15:17 sentencing provisions.
15:18 And plea bargaining
15:19 restrictions that can make the
15:22 resolution of certain cases
15:23 very difficult finally over
15:24 the last year we've begun t
15:27 oroll out electronic filing in
15:28 the cities supreme courts I am
15:31 pleased to report that the
15:32 early results of these efforts
15:35 are quite promising
15:36 . Every borough in New York
15:38 City had more dispositions
15:41 last year than it did in 20 24
15:44 . Brooklyn where we first
15:45 piloted this work in late 2024 %
15:52 increase and City wide
15:53 dispositions increased by 10%
15:57 that positive trend is
15:58 continuing so far this year
16:00 dispositions in our supreme
16:02 courts are up 11% and we are
16:06 resolving cases significantly
16:08 faster than New filings are
16:10 coming in which is important
16:11 this is our year to day
16:14 clearance rate which reflects
16:16 the percentage of cases that
16:18 have been disposed compared t
16:19 ohow many were filed which is
16:21 now hundred 25% another
16:24 another positive data point at